Mail box



H. C. BARTH Feb.` 23 192%.

MAIL Box Filed April l0, 1925 y 2 Sheets-Sheet l V INVENTOR E C ,Ba rtf?,

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ATTORNEYS Feb. 23 1926.

a BARTH n MAIL BOX Filed April 1Q, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR g rtl?) ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. Y2.3, 1926.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

' HENRY CARL BALETH, 0F HELENA, MONTANA. l

MAIL BOX.

Application filed April 10, 1925. Seriall No. 22,174.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. BARTH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ot' Helena, in the county oit' Lewis and Clark and State of Montana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Boxes, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in boxes oil the type having a plurality of separate compartments for the reception of mail or other small articles, and it consists in the combinationa constructions and arrange-` ments herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a box of the character described which afords facilities for preventing unauthorized removal of articles from lthe individual compartments of the box, and which at the same 20,

vention will be apparent from the following description considered in conjunction with vthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of `a box embodying ther invention supported in an opening in a wall, v

Figure2 is a relatively enlarged section substantially along the line 2-2 or Fig-v ure 1, v

Figure 3 is a front view of thebox with the door thereof partly raised, portions of the box being broken away to show elements that would otherwise be hidden,l and ,Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the box. i

The improved box has a body-made of sheet metal or other. suitable material `and comprises a bottom 1, a back 2, side walls 3,

and atop 4. The space within the bodygoi:l the box is divided by intersecting vertical and horizontal partitions 5 and 6 into a plurality of compartments 7, each of which is open at the 'front as best seen in Figure 3. The body of the box has a rim portion thereof mounted in a frame which comprises a bottom member S, a pair oi side members 9, and atop member 10. yThis frame may be mounted in an opening 11 in a wall 12 or may be supported in` any other suitable known manner. The top member 10 of the frame is formed to provide a longitudinal slot 13 and vertical side grooves or guideways 14e are provided'at the inner sides of the side members 9 of the frame for the l reception of the side edge portions 150i a door 16 which is slidable vertically from .position to close all the compartments` 7 through the slot 13to position to uncover A groove or channel 17 is providedin the upper taceof the lower or bottom member S of the trame in which the lower edge porythe front ends of all the compartments'p' tion 18 of the door 16 seats when the door is closed. The bottom member 8 may have 'a key hole opening 19 leading to asuitable lock, not shown, which iscarried bythe bottom member 8 in position to engage with -a keeper -20 onthe lower edge portion of the door when the door lhas beenfn'iovedV downward to closed position as shown in Figure 1. Stops 21 on the lower edge portionof the door engage with the bottom member 8 of the frame when the door isin `fully closed position and relieve thelock of undue strain.

The door 1G has openings 22 correspond'- ing in number and relative arrangement with the compartments 7, each opening 22 being directly in front of andadjacent to the corresponding compartment 7 when the door 16 is in closed position. A door 23 is provided for each opening 22 and is attached by means of a hinge 24to the main door 1G. It therefore will be manifest that each door 23 serves not only: as a door or closure for its particular opening 22, but f also as a means for preventing access to a particular compartment 7 when that door 23 anu the main door 16 are closed; Each door 23 may be kept closed by any suitable lock, none being shown, so that opening of the door 23 by an unauthorized person will be practically prevented.

ln order that themain door 16. shall be capable of easy movement in the guideways le from closed to open position, I may make use of weights as shown at 25 in Fig- `als ure 3, each weight beingk suspended in a vertical passageway 26 inone of the side members 9 of the box body supporting frame, by a cable 27, the cable being passed over a guide sheave 28 at the upper end of the side member 9 and being extended downywa'rdly in the adjacent guideway 1li and attached at its lower end to the door 16 adjacent to the lower edge of the latter, as by means of the bracket 29. The weight 25 may be effective to raise the door as soon as the keeper 2O has been released from the bottom member '8 of the' frame, although preferably some slight manual action will be required in addition to t-he action of the weight 25 to raise' `the door to open position. The stops 21 willk contact with the upper frame memberlO and will prevent v the door from moving entirely through the slot is. t

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may -be readily understood. Each compartment 7 may have a plate 30 in the front part thereof for carrying the name of the user of the compartment in position' to be visible from the space at the front 1 of the box,-the name being produced on a strip secured to the plateBO or marked on the latter'in any suitable known manner. If desired, each door 23'may have a glass panel to permit a view of the name on the plate 30 in the compartment 7 with which that door 23is associated.

When the box is used for the reception of mail, the postman who delivers the mail will of course have a key for the lock of the main door and onreleasing the main door and raising it to open position, Vhe will have access to all the compartments 7 Howl ever, when the main door is closed and locked, access Atothe compartments can be had only through the openings 22 for which the doors'23 are provided. It is intended that each door 23 shall have a lock so that theuser of each compartment will have exclusive use thereof and the contents of each compartment 7 will be protected against theft Aand cannot be inspected by unauthorized persons.

,Obviously the improved box may be used togood advantage for the 'reception of articles other than mail.

f Obviously the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

' -and I therefore vconsider as my own all such modifications and adaptations thereof as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A boxl of the character described comprising a hollow body open at the front, a

kframe supporting the rim of said hollow position to cover the fronts of all of said i compartments, said door having an opening for each of said compartments, each opening of the door being at the front of the c-orrespending 'compartment when the door is closed, and a door for each of the openings in said first named door.

2.' A box of the character describedy comprising a hollow body open at the front, a frame supporting the rim of said hollow body, said frame having a slot in the upper Ym'er'nber thereof and having guideways in 'the inner faces of the side members thereof, partitions within said body dividing the space within the latter into va plurality of compartments, each .open at the front of the body, adoor extending slidably through said slot in the upper part of the frame and in sliding engagement at its 4side edges with said gui'deways and the side membersl of the frame, said door being movable'to.

and from position to cover the fronts of all of said compartments, said door having an opening for each of said compartments, each opening of the door being at the front of the corresponding compartment when the door is closed, adoor for each of the openings in said first named door, va stop" on the lower edge portion of said door for env gaging with the frame tovlimitthe vertical movement of the door.

SSA box of the character described, comprising a hollow body open at the front, a frame supportingl the rim of said hollow body, said frame having a slot in the upper member thereof and having guideways in the inner faces of the side members thereof, partitions within said body dividing the space within the latter into la plurality of compartments, each open at the front of' the body, a door extending slidably through said slot in the upper part of the frame and in sliding engagement at its side edges with said guideways and the side members of the frame, said door being movable to and from Vposition to cover the fronts of all of said compartments, each opening of the door being at the front of the corresponding compartment when the door is closed, and a door for each of the openings in said rst named door, `one of the side members of the frame having a vertical passage therein vat the outer side of the vertical guidevvay in said side member,

said vertical assaffe bein' in o en com.

mnuication at its upper end with said guide- Way, a guide sheave in the upper end of said vertical passage, a cable attached at its lower end to the lower edge portion of said door and extending upwardly in the adjacent guideway across said sheave and downwardly in said vertical passage, and a Weight suspended by said cable for move` ment vertically in said passage.

HENRY CARL BARTH. 

